“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

How easy it is to look around our lives and see all the things we wish were different. As we concentrate on those things, and they become to dominant direction of our thought, those things we wish were different only multiply. When instead we stop, change direction, and count our blessings, giving thought to the things going well in our lives, we soon begin to notice that those are the things being multiplied. Through each positive thought, each positive affirmation of life, we are experiencing a powerful affirmative prayer. Not only are we thankful for all that God has provided, but we are saying thank you to Spirit/God for all that will be provided each and every day to come. We walk humbly with our God whenever we realize that through God’s grace we are blessed abundantly.

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

In Marjorie Thompson’s book Soul Feast she asks, and then answers, a very interesting question. “Is it God’s work or our work that makes things happen? The answer to both, is yes!” This quote from her book says so much as we endeavor to have relationship with God. God of course is capable of doing mighty and beautiful things in our lives, but we have a part to play in that as well. We have to keep alert, to recognize the blessings of God that abound in our lives and to be in communion with God in gratitude. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is to stop and, even in the midst of trial and strife, look for the blessings and gifts that God has provided us. We start counting our blessings, from the really big things, to the smallest of things, and what we discover is that the list just goes on and on. It has no end. The unlimitedness of God pours out a treasure for us to accept. As a wise minister from my childhood used to say, “God is in the blessing business.” When we begin, with gratitude, to concentrate on all of the many gifts of God it seems that more just keep coming.

Meditate on your blessings, visualize the gifts that Spirit has poured out to you. Use your gifts to bless and affirm others. Your well can never run dry for Spirit God is infinite abundance and peace.

Affirmation: “Stopping to recognize the blessings of God, I see that they are indeed never ending and a feast for my soul.”

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12: 30)

One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving is when I was in church choir as a little boy. I remember one cold evening we sang a song that was new to me, and it is one that I have always loved since. Not only does it remind me of Thanksgiving, but it always reminds me fondly of that night we learned it. I remember our choir director, a young woman, Evangeline Everett, isn’t that a great name? I will never forget her, as she taught us this song:

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing; Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant, And pray that Thou still our Defender will be; Let Thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

These lyrics can touch us so deeply as we meditate upon them.

We do gather together. We hasten and chasen for there is no time to waste.

We proclaim for God/Spirit to be made known through our understanding of God moving in our lives, always available and always right where we need Spirit to be. The wicked oppressor – that is our doubts and our fears. That is our hesitation to experience fully God’s power and presence and to believe we are loved unconditionally. And yes, we do praise God’s name from on high as we count the many ways we are grateful.

There is a perfect rhythm of life. The sunset, the sunrise, the tides. The growing of things before the harvest has a certain rhythm of life. The spirit of God has a rhythm as well and we are a part of that perfect rhythm. That rhythm is harmony and peace and it is unconditional love.

Affirmation: “Knowing I am a beautiful part of God’s rhythm of life, peace and harmony just naturally manifest wherever I look.

One of my favorite movies, and I will confess to watching it at any time of the year, especially in mid-summer when the weather is hot, hot, hot, is “White Christmas.” You all know the movie. The producers went through the catalogue of Irving Berlin songs, created a flimsy story to weave them all together and created a classic.

This lyric has a powerful message and I have to think that when Mr. Berlin was writing it he thought back to his early days of struggle on the lower Eastside of New York City, living as an emigrant and just trying to get by day to day. In the midst of the life he was living at that time stopping to count his blessings had to seem a bit daunting. Daunting – but powerful.

Our recognition of our blessings is powerful. It sets for us a new course, one that before our recognition of those blessings was unknown to us. When we stop to count our blessings we are moving our consciousness to seeing the abundance that we have.

Fall asleep counting your blessing and you will wake in the morning still counting your blessings. It is amazing how that works, but it does.

One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving is when I was in church choir as a little boy. I remember one cold evening we sang a song that was new to me, and it is one that I have always loved since. Not only does it remind me of Thanksgiving, but it always reminds me fondly of that night we learned it. I remember our choir director, a young woman, Evangeline Everett, isn’t that a great name? I will never forget her, as she taught us this song:

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; He chastens and hastens His will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing; Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant, And pray that Thou still our Defender will be; Let Thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

These lyrics can touch us so deeply as we meditate upon them.

We do gather together. We do this in community, the community of the Christ and we are stronger for our union with one another. All God’s children. We hasten and chasen for there is no time to waste.

We proclaim for God/Spirit to be made known through our understanding of God moving in our lives, always available and always right where we need Spirit to be. The wicked oppressing – that is our doubts and our fears, our worries and our times when we feel alone in the world. It is also our hesitation in experiencing fully God’s power and presence and it is our failure to believe we are loved by God unconditionally. And yes, we do praise God’s name from on high as we count the many ways we are grateful.

We gather together as we hold one another in prayerful affirmation of God’s truth. Our prayers, as well as our trust in God, bind with the prayers and trust of others to form a mighty vibration of love and peace that draws positive Spiritual energy and hope to us all.

There is a perfect rhythm of life. The sunset, the sunrise, the tides. The growing of things before the harvest has a certain rhythm of life. First the seed, then the full plant reaching for the sky, followed by the harvest. The spirit of God has a rhythm and we are a part of that perfect rhythm. That rhythm is harmony and peace and it is unconditional love. We are part of that rhythm through our breathing in and our breathing out and we are part of that rhythm through the pulsing of our hearts. Perfect creation, beating in perfect time for the expression of God’s kingdom right here, right where we are at every moment.

Let us gather together in thanksgiving.

Affirmation: “Knowing I am a beautiful part of God’s rhythm of life, peace and harmony just naturally manifest wherever I look.”

“I thank God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.” (Philippians 1: 3-4)

One of the most beautiful acts we can perform for another is to lift them up in prayer. It is something we can do at any time, in any place, and in doing this we can realize God’s beautiful presence not only in their lives, but also in our own.

In the midst of the “stuff” going on in our lives it can be so difficult to see the truth of God’s blessing and answer. I know this for a fact, for I have felt it on many occasions. The burden seems especially heavy, the sky seems unusually dark and the pain feels as though it has come to stay. In these times, as much as I know God is right here, and I am never alone, it can be tough. We all feel that at times and in reaching out to God it helps to allow others to assist us in seeing God’s perfection.

There is such power in having others lift us up to God in sincere and faithful prayer. As others lift us up they can see beyond our concerns and burdens and they can see the reality of God’s blessing for us. I have always found it helpful to know that another is “holding that space of perfection” until I can see clearly enough to recognize it myself. When we pray for another we have a wonderful opportunity, and responsibility, in holding that sacred space of Gods truth for them. In our prayer, we are to be crystal clear in our own minds that the power of God is present and moving in that, and every situation. The more belief we, as the prayer, have in the power of God’s blessing, holding that space in absolute truth, the more we will be able to help those with whom we pray begin to see that truth as well.

The always inspiring Rev. Amy Butler has written, “None of us ever does the work of the Gospel community alone.” How true, and how magnificent. With one another, and with God, the miracles we seek for another become a gift to us as well.

Affirmation: “The truth of God’s beautiful miracle is at hand. It is revealed to me perfectly and I am ready to receive it.”

We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.

Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life.

Please join us each Sunday for our SpiritSong service at 5:30 PM in our Social Hall at First Christian Church, North Hollywood, CA. This Contemporary Celebration and Praise service is an hour of great music from our wonderful band and singers, inspiring messages and good fellowship. Those things in life that you have been seeking have also been seeking you. Now is a good time to receive them. We will lift one another to live exciting, abundant new lives of possibility and purpose.

Also, join me on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8 PM for an hour of guided and silent meditation, reflection, affirmation and prayer. As always, we will share communion together. Everyone is welcome. We are an open and affirming congregation.

“I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.” (Psalm 52: 9)

My mother’s mother, my beloved grandmother, was perhaps my best friend when I was growing up. I loved spending time at her apartment, taking a taxi to church at National City Christian Church on Sunday mornings and, before we walked across Thomas Circle for Sunday School, stopping in the hotel across from the church for breakfast. We on occasion traveled together in the summers on the train around the country, and I always loved hearing her stories about working in the Pentagon during World War II. She was a remarkable woman who touched my life deeply.

When my grandmother died we went through her apartment and we all picked out items that had been special to her and that would forever be treasured keepsakes for each of us. My grandmother, who was always impeccably dressed, loved purses and had, what seemed to me, quite a collection. What we discovered was that in the bottom of every one of those purses she had placed a penny. One penny in each purse. I remembered later that on one of our special days to luncheon together, usually at the Peoples Drug Store lunch counter on Dupont Circle, which she loved, she was beautifully dressed as always with hat and gloves and I probably looked as preppy as ever (not much has changed). During our conversation she showed me the single penny in the bottom of the purse and explained why it was there. It reminded her of the Great Depression years when things were lean and how God had walked with her through those dark times and blessed her. She said that as long as she had that penny in the bottom of her purse she knew she would never be broke, that she was abundant, that God was always providing all that she needed and things were good. Her example of being thankful for even the little things has always stayed with me. She taught me that our gratitude opens the door for us to see even more blessings all around us.

An attitude of gratitude is a phrase I often hear and, though it may seem like a simple idea, when we practice it, it becomes a life changer. Our focus on life shifts to the blessings of God and the fullness of God’s love for us. When we begin to focus on the seed of possibility in our lives we create a powerful starting point to experiencing renewed growth in our faith. What may seem a simple shift in our thinking to the recognition and understanding of God right where we are at every moment, is in reality a beautiful prayer unto itself. A prayer of trust and a wonderful prayer of gratitude.

When I was in high school I had a class period my senior year that I had to fill and so I thought it would be fun to take a shorthand and typing class. I loved learning shorthand and still use those skills today. My mother and I used to even correspond in shorthand when I was away at college and we would always, in any letter, shorthand or longhand, write, “I love you,” in shorthand at the end of letters and notes to one another.

Shorthand uses abbreviated symbols for the words and also leaves out many words that are just understood to be part of the sentence. So, in essence, it abbreviates much of what we would otherwise need to write out to complete a proper sentence.

As I apply this idea to our conversations with God I think many of our prayers we lift up are in shorthand. We often say to God, “I need this or that,” or we think, “God help me with this.” Now there is nothing wrong with that because I think anytime we turn to God in prayer and thought it is good. I also believe that God knows what we need long before we even utter the thought; but I also think it is good to set time aside to really sit and communicate in depth with God, to just talk and confide and dialogue with God as we would with another person. What I love about those times are the deep revelations of Spirit that come up during the prayer. This becomes true quality time spent with God and this quality time will not only help build our relationship with the Divine, but it will increase our faith and understanding of the grace that is poured out for us. I firmly believe that many, if not most, times the answers to my prayers are found in my prayer. While talking with God I suddenly find myself expressing the very thing that has alluded me. I find the ideas, the insight, the truth in my prayer as I am saying it, and what I just know is that the insight came from God and was sent through me to verbalize in order to understand it more fully. It also gives me a great opportunity to say “thank you, God, for your blessing.”

God understands our shorthand, but God also loves to hear our praise and thanksgiving in the fullness of our expression. Our prayer time is really one of the most important things we can do each day.

And at the end of each prayer, right before we say our “Amen,” we can also say to God, “I love you.” We all like to be told we are loved and I think God is no exception.

Affirmation: “Aware of the fullness of God right where I am I understand with greater clarity the magnitude of God working in my life. Thank you God for new insights and revelations of your presence. I love you.”

We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.

Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life. Please join us each Sunday at 5:30 PM in our Social Hall at First Christian Church, North Hollywood, CA for our Contemporary Celebration and Praise service. Come as you are and enjoy an hour of great music from our wonderful band and singers, inspiring messages and good fellowship. Those things in life that you have been seeking have also been seeking you. Now is a good time to receive them. We will lift one another to live exciting, abundant new lives of possibility and purpose.

Also, join me on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8 PM for an hour of guided and silent meditation, reflection, affirmation and prayer. As always, we will share communion together. Everyone is welcome. We are an open and affirming congregation.

“Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37: 4)

Of the many things we can experience, and for which we can be thankful, the one that comes to my mind that encompasses everything, is the presence and unconditional love of God.

It’s wonderful to know that God’s grace is always available to us. It’s comforting. It’s reassuring. It’s peaceful. But it seems to me that if we are to experience God’s grace we need to get on the same wavelength with God. We can recognize God’s grace only through our desire to let God into our lives. The grace is there, we have to stop and align with Spirit. It’s like tuning our radios to a certain frequency. The station we want is out there, it’s broadcasting, but we have to tune to the right signal to hear it. God speaks to us at the level of our willingness to listen. When we have the willingness to listen to God what we find is that God is right there, waiting for us. Grace upon grace, offered unconditionally.

Stop and give thanksgiving to God for being a real, moving, exciting presence in your life. This recognition will also connect you to Divine Spirit in a beautiful and loving way. When we make the connection, when give thanksgiving, our lives move toward the change we have always desired to experience.

We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.

Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life. Please join us each Sunday at 5:30 PM in our Social Hall at First Christian Church, North Hollywood, CA for our Contemporary Celebration and Praise service. Come as you are and enjoy an hour of great music from our wonderful band and singers, inspiring messages and good fellowship. Those things in life that you have been seeking have also been seeking you. Now is a good time to receive them. We will lift one another to live exciting, abundant new lives of possibility and purpose.

Also, join me on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8 PM for an hour of guided and silent meditation, reflection, affirmation and prayer. As always, we will share communion together. Everyone is welcome. We are an open and affirming congregation.

Recently at our Wednesday evening meditation service we did a visualization meditation to clear some of our old limiting and destructive thinking and to open up a space within ourselves to welcome new revelations of Spirit/God’s magnificent presence.

The meditation was a step-by-step process that involves the following:

RECALL – RELEASE

VISUALIZE – ACCEPT

CLAIM – THANKSGIVING

In the RECALL we bring something to mind consciously, seeing it as clearly as we can and naming it, something in our life that we are willing to give up. Perhaps it is feelings of unforgiveness, pain, discord, anxiety or worry. Our intention here is to clear away negative vibrations that have prevented us from moving forward in our lives. Sometimes, however, this negative block can be so deep that we have trouble knowing just what it is. We may need to spend more time trying to recognize and name it, but we also don’t want to get stuck at that point. Just knowing that negative blocks and energies are moving toward being released can go a long way in helping us move forward. After we become clear on this step we move on this we…

RELEASE it to God. We let it go and we allow God to take it and transmute it into nothingness. Having given it to God we can know that it no longer has any effect on our lives. Really experience the feeling that whatever has been preventing your forward motion in life is no longer an energy that can hold you back. From here we move on to…

VISUALIZE and seeing what it is we want. What is it that we desire to experience? Now see this clearly and name this. Is it love, peace, abundance and security? Maybe what you wish to visualize is the fulfillment of a new opportunity. Be specific in how you see it while also leaving room for God to mold it into the perfect manifestation of Spirit’s divine creation created just for you. Being specific doesn’t mean it has to look exactly like we see it in our minds. Our minds are limited. God’s blessings may be greater than we had ever thought possible and we never want to limit the manifestation of God’s perfect gift. So, know what it is you wish to experience and then leave room for God to make it even more magnificent than you ever thought possible. The God who is universal individualizes blessings specifically for each of us. Scripture speaks of this when it says there are many parts, but one body. (1 Corinthians 12: 14-21) Having visualized the desire it is now important to…

ACCEPT. Receive it. So often the things we wish to experience we block from our experience by failing to accept God’s gift when it is given. Accept the gift allowing it to become a new part of your experience. You are God’s divine creation and you are loved unconditionally by a God who longs to bless you abundantly. Next…

CLAIM it. Affirm it as an experience that now is a part of your life. How does it make you feel? Maybe you now see it fully manifest in your experience, or maybe not, but God is preparing the way and things are moving majestically in the universe toward the full manifestation of your prayer. And in doing this be sure to give God

THANKSGIVING. It is to be with gratitude that we experience God’s miracles in our lives. Again as we give thanksgiving we can affirm that we recognize God’s miracles in our lives as they appear. The answer and the miracle we seek may come in a way we had never thought possible and so we don’t want to miss it because it came to us in a way we hadn’t expected. Give gratitude to God for blessing you in ways that expand your understanding and faith of Spirit’s love.

This exercise can be done over and over as we release those things that have been holding us back while we allow God to move us forward.

This is a form of prayer that is specific, while still leaving room for God to be all that God can be in our lives. God is always so much greater than we can ever imagine and God’s unlimited blessing should never be limited because our human minds are limited.

I have often said to people when they pray for something specific, “great, now finish that prayer with “this God, or something better.” After all, wouldn’t you wish to experience more of God’s bounty in your life rather than less as the answers to your prayers?